Herman Frank – Loyal to None (2009)

Guitarist Herman Frank is no stranger to this hard rock fan. He has been rocking me hard for years with his guitar work on the classic Accept release, Balls to the Wall. Finally, in 2009, after stints with several other metal bands (Sinner, Moon ‘Doc, Victory), Frank has released his first solo effort.

On Loyal to None, Herman Frank is obviously out to rock your face off. The blistering riffs on “Moon II” immediately demand attention, and the rest of the songs on this CD follow suit in strong fashion. Frank’s high octane fretwork is augmented by the vocals of his band mate from the band Victory, Jiotis Parachaidis. If you haven’t ever heard this guy sing before, you are in for a real treat. His vocals fall somewhere in between David Coverdale & Rob Halford. I have not heard him sing before this release, so I was quite surprised at how good he is. As much as I love the vocals of Paracharidis on Loyal to None, Herman Frank’s guitar work is even better. He doesn’t hold back on this album at all. If you are a fan of classic metal guitar noodling, you are going to love this.

Herman Frank’s band is rounded out with former Running Wild members Peter Pichl and Stefan Schwarzmann. These classic metal musicians help deliver one of the better metal releases of 2009. Loyal to None is strong effort from beginning to end. If you aren’t sold, after listening to the clip of “Metal Gods” (below), your speakers may be broken. There are no songs that I would consider filler. Simply put, this is an fantastic slab of classic metal.

You can check out some additional of the clips on the Herman Frank myspace at this link. You can grab your own copy of Loyal to None from NEH Records here. Highly Recommended!